nothing earth-shakingly new or exotic is going on - well, except that Marko finally mastered the double-pedal bass drum technique used in modern heavy metal, and that might have caused some minor earthquakes around Saturday hereabouts. The neighborhood must have loved the barrage of rapid bass drum machine gun fire emanating from a certain rehearsal room... ;-)
Reko's 9th birthday is next week, and we've planned three (3!) separate birthday parties: one for the kids in the other apartments of our condo, one for his classmates, and one for "the adults": family and friends. Sounds complicated but is much easier than trying to coordinate a good time to all these people at once.
As we're writing this, Annu is stumbling through a sleepy haze even though it's around 8 pm. Spending over 50 % of your waking hours at work during the last three days works wonders for you! She's got some crazy shifts but gets workdays off, of course. Some people (like Annu) enjoy working in ever-changing shifts and cycles... and some don't (guess who).
Homestead, late winter snowscape, with ski tracks and a family in the distance
The temperature is finally rising above zero degrees celsius at daytime; there's the cheerful sound of water dripping and we've had some sunny days that remind us of the summer ahead. Although it's been nice these past couple of months: we've had loads of snow and a decent old-time winter for a change. Annu's been doing some serious cross-country skiing, and Atte enjoys that a lot too. As for Reko and his old man - well they do try their best, very bravely too (Marko likes the flats but hates steep downhills; visions of broken limbs and concussed brains). So it's with a certain wistfulness, really, that we wave this winter bye-bye.
The Skiing Mom and the boys...
...and the "These ski poles help me stand on these darn boards" Dad, with the aformentioned Wonder Boys.
